


Alstroemeria

by hobikilledme



Series: Superhero Time [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Nonbinary Seungkwan, Poison Ivy-esque Seokmin, Support Hero Chan, booseoksoon, lots of plants, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23520682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobikilledme/pseuds/hobikilledme
Summary: You ever just wanna go apeshit?
Relationships: Lee Chan | Dino/Lee Seokmin | DK
Series: Superhero Time [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692523
Comments: 3
Kudos: 42





	Alstroemeria

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm back because I love super heros a whole bunch and I love my best boys even more! This can be read as a stand alone piece, but there are some things that will make more sense if you read the other fic in this series. It's pretty much just world building lol. 
> 
> Also big shout out to Abigail, Tori, and Kim for not stopping me when maybe I should be stopped.
> 
> Also Caoimhe, I love you, thank you for reading my stuff even if you don't know a whole lot about Seventeen
> 
> Listen to the Birds of Prey Soundtrack specifically Sway with me and Experiment on me 
> 
> This isn't betaed i love yall enjoy

Seokmin can’t understand plants. He’s tried explaining this to Seungkwan and Soonyoung on multiple occasions. He can feel their emotions to a certain extent, knowing that some plants simply have the urge to consume while others are softer and just want to grow, to blossom. When fighting, he basically mentally argues with plants until they decide to help him out. When he was younger, willows would reach their branches out to him, trying to tug him in. Ferns would uncurl, reaching for his palm as if they needed to physically touch him in order to be heard. That’s all plants wanted to do, have someone listen to them.  
One of the weird parts of his powers, he can’t keep his eyes open when he’s using them. He usually relies on the rest of his team to guide him through or stays at the back. Seungkwan has worried that he’s being too trusting. The fact is, that the amount of energy coursing through his hands outwards is like trying to stare at the sun.  
Seungkwan told him that it was a lame backstory and he needs to come up with something cooler in case they get really famous. Seokmin doesn’t mind being called a villain but he doubts it’ll lead to any sort of fame. He doesn’t really think they’re doing anything wrong, they're helping make the world a better place. Also, who’s gonna think that the Environmental Science major who always has some plant laced into his shoes or a flower in his hair is a villain? It's the perfect alibi. His botany grade has never been higher.

As far as Seokmin is concerned, there are no problems, it’s a perfect system. Well there are a few problems but nothing major. Soonyoung usually looks up from his phone at this point in his monologue. “What about the Chan problem?” Seokmin waves his hand, making a leaf off his philodendron smack the other boy’s phone out of his hand. “There is no Chan problem!” he’ll hiss like always. Soonyoung will roll his eyes and scoop his phone back up. 

There might be a Chan problem. Lee Chan has been Seokmin’s roommate for two years now. They hadn’t talked much at first, Chan not spending a lot of time in the apartment, and hiding in his room when he was there. Maybe it was because he was trying to hide being a hero? Seokmin never actively hid anything about his line of work, their apartment a frequent meeting place for Seungkwan and Soonyoung to draft their next heist. Also Seokmin might be kind of stupid but he’s not that dumb. He’s literally seen Chan at work, he doesn’t wear a mask.  
After a few months of the constant scuttling, Seokmin had finally cornered him in the kitchen at 3am trying to bandage himself up. “Are we gonna talk about the superpower thing?” He says leaning on the doorframe. To Chan’s credit, he walked very lightly in general, so it wasn’t very surprising to watch Chan shriek and drop the whole first aid kit.  
“What super powers? I don't- I’ve never-” Chan can’t seem to come up with enough words to string a sentence together, scrambling to pick everything up off the floor. Seokmin sighs, coming over to help pick it all up.  
“If we just talk about it openly, it won’t be as bad, I promise,” He beams at Chan, “Look here I’ll go first.” He waves a hand toward the herbs growing on the windowsill in their kitchen and Chan watches, eyes round, as all of the plants grow a few inches, sprouting flowers here and there. The younger boy turns back to look at him shocked. Seokmin frowns, “Did you really not know?” Chan shakes his head. “What in the world did you think all of the plants were for?”  
“I just thought you were a really dedicated enviro major!” Chan pouts, crossing his arms and looking away. Seokmin feels himself grinning again. He’s just so cute.  
“Well what’s yours?” Seokmin works on putting all the things back into place in the first aid kit.  
“Let me see your hand,” Chan uncrosses his arm holding a hand out. Seokmin gives him his hand easily and feels a sudden surge of energy. All of the plants in the kitchen perk up and then start growing at double rate. Seokmin snatches his hand back before they grow a full size rosemary bush in the kitchen.  
“Oh my god, you’re just like Mercy from Overwatch!” Chan looks tired already.  
“I mean I guess,” He holds a hand out, the sage bush lifting to meet his fingers, “It's like empathy for powers. I can amp up most people’s powers for a while and also borrow them for a bit. It doesn’t work as well with flying powers, just because those are more genetic.”  
Seokmin’s face hurts from smiling so wide, “You have to meet my friend Soonyoung.”

And that had been the end of it. They had settled more easily into a routine around the apartment. Seokmin’s friends thought Chan’s ability was fantastic, Soonyoung laughing as Chan accidentally set a blanket on fire, and when Chan finally started inviting over his friends, they were always overwhelmed by the sheer amount of plants packed into a tiny two bedroom apartment.  
Seokmin has learned many, many Lee Chan habits in the meantime. When Chan was particularly hungry, he’ll hug Seokmin and then go touch the blackberry vine he has growing around one of the bookshelves. He’ll do all of his laundry and fold it in the living room if he’s trying to avoid something, and fold it in the kitchen if he needs to talk to Seokmin about something. He’s double majoring in Music Production and Computer Science and tells Seokmin that he wanted to do something he loved alongside something he’s not good at yet. He hasn’t said which one is which yet, but sometimes Seokmin can hear him singing when he showers. 

\---

“Seungkwan, you have a boyfriend, tell me how you did it,” Seokmin whines, walking around the tiny living room watering various plants. Seungkwan snorts from where they’re parked on Seokmin’s couch watching America’s Next Top Model.  
“I didn’t do anything, he’s stupid and almost died. Then he realized that I was perfect and he should date me.” Seungkwan says all of this while shoving gummy worms in their mouth and not looking away from the TV.  
Seokmin laughs to himself mostly, he had to bear witness to Sengkwan losing it over Hansol long before they ended up together. He looks at his phone finally, noticing what time it was.  
“Okay Boo Berry, get up,” Seungkwan whines at him, “Nope, you know it’s movie night and you’re not invited.” He shuffles them out the door, shouting over them yelling, “Have a nice date night!”

Movie nights with Chan were the highlight of the week. There had been a lot of shared google calendars, promises to scary superhero leaders that his baby would be fine missing patrol one night a week, and a lot of promises to the meddling best friends from dropping by unexpectedly. Finally, Thursday nights had been reserved as a Chan & Seokmin only event, where they only ate takeout and watched animated movies. Chan had once suggested they try watching a horror film and it had ended with both of them sleeping in the same bed out of terror and when Seokmin had woken up, the periwinkle had bloomed so much, they were both dusted in petals.  
Now, Seokmin removes the flowering plants in the living room if they cuddle, just because trimming the plants every week already takes a lot of time and it’s so annoying.  
Chan shows up right on time like he always does, carrying Seokmin’s favorite pad thai and raspberry wine. He tries not to swoon over the thought of actually taking Chan out on a date.  
“Hyung what are we watching tonight, because I know you said Inside Out last week but I’ll be honest today has really been emotionally taking enough,” Chan works on setting all the food out on the coffee table while Seokmin grabs glasses for the wine.  
“Do you wanna watch Howl’s Moving Castle? We can complain about how far off the book it goes if you want.”  
Chan pretends to faint, “Wow, hyung, a man after my own heart.” Seokmin snorts.  
They do end up watching the film, debating over whether or not Sophie was a lesbian or not. At one point, tipsy on wine and glowing in the fairy lights, Chan sighs.  
“I want someone to love me as much as Howl loves Sophie,” and if Seokmin dreams about a world with shooting stars and Chan later that night, nobody needs to know. 

\---

DK feels like a different person. Soonyoung and Seungkwan have both agreed when he’s brought up that his Villain Persona doesn’t actually feel like him. Here he is, physically sitting on some CEO’s desk twirling a sprig of mistletoe around in his fingers but really he’s thinking about the organic chemistry lab report due in three days.  
The man in question walks into the room, looking startled to see people where they shouldn’t be. Soonyoung turns around in the chair behind the desk, “So glad you could join us!” he says, leaning forward to put his chin in his hands, “We came to see if you wanted to make a deal.”  
Seungkwan shoves the older man into the center of the room, locking the door behind them and leaning on it, “This can be super simple! We don’t want to hurt people anymore than you do.” They examine their claws, “Well, I guess not as much as you do,” They look up, eyes looking dangerous, “Dokyeom, dear, would you remind me what our dear friend here has done again?”  
“Hmm let me think,” Seokmin taps his chin, swinging his legs so his feet hit the side of the very expensive desk. He wonders if it’s walnut. “Oh right! Let's see, illegal dumping of toxic chemicals into public waterways, failure to provide healthcare for employees in unsafe working environments, and paying to threaten said employees and their families who tried to sue you!” With every new charge, he has a vine grow around the CEO’s limbs.  
“How dare you! Do you even-” The older man’s outrage is cut off by a vine wrapping around his mouth. Soonyoung rubs his temples, “Thank you DK, I hate when they start monologuing.” The other boy lights one of his hands on fire and walks over to the wrapped up man. “Listen closely, I really hate to repeat myself.” Seokmin can see the fear reflected into the man’s eyes just as bright as the flames. His vines also don’t seem to like the fire but Seokmin has had years to train his control tighter than his plants. Soonyoung tilts his head, smiling at the man, “You pay back those employees and their families, you fix the damage you wrought onto the environment, and we let you live! It’s simple, really, easy fix.” The man looks like he’s going to burst a blood vessel.  
Seungkwan gets up, stretching, “Well if that’s all, we are very busy people, so we’ll be in touch!” They wave over their shoulder as the three of them leave the man tied up in his office.  
“How likely is it that we are probably gonna have to come tear his office up again?” Seokmin asks, holding the door of the lobby open for Seungkwan. Soonyoung wanted to take the revolving door.  
“Probably very likely, but who’s to say?” Soonyoung says, finally free of the revolving door while the other two watch him try and untangle himself for a while. “Some people just hate simple solutions.”

\---

Work wasn’t ever supposed to follow him home.

It’s Thursday. Seokmin is running late because his organic chemistry lab went longer than expected and Chan had texted him asking if he could pick up more gummies? Seungkwan had eaten all of them >:(

The elevator is out when he gets to their building, because of course it is. Nothing is going his way today. He’s had a weird feeling in his stomach since he got to their building but he really doesn’t want to cancel movie night.  
Walking up to their front door, the feeling gets worse. He goes to turn the handle, and notices that the door is already partially opened. That’s… weird. Why would Chan have left their apartment? He pushes open the door, cautious now. No one is in the entryway but he feels like it’s spring again, too much life energy in one place.  
“Chan?” He drops the bags he’s carrying, anxiety starting to swirl in his stomach.  
“Hyung.” He hears it from the living room. Unthinking, he lets the kudzu by the door curl around his leg, trying to ground himself to reality.  
He steps into the room, and immediately has a gun pointed at him. There has to be at least five henchmen in their living room. One of them is holding Chan in a headlock and has a knife pressed to his throat. Chan has a bruise on the side of his head and looks out of it. The henchmen must not have been powered or else Chan probably could have gotten out of there by himself. The guy holding Chan presses the knife a little harder into the younger boy’s neck, “Are you even listening to me?” Seokmin had not been, hadn’t even realized the guy had been talking, so overwhelmed by everything happening, “Come with us peacefully, and we won’t hurt your little friend here.” He moves his arm and the knife presses harder into Chan’s neck and Seokmin can hear his whimper from here, “Our boss hasn’t been too thrilled to be threatened at his place of work.”

Seokmin understands with startling clarity how divers in old metal suits must have felt. The feeling of being trapped, unable to move, the feeling of metal closing around on all sides.  
Chan shakes his head slightly, looking on the verge of tears. Seokmin doesn’t need to be telepathic to know that he’s telling him to stand down.

This is supposed to be his safe place, his safe person. How dare these people come here and threaten his person? Who the hell did they think they were? Seokmin sees red. He feels the dark swirl of the monkshood he keeps tucked away on a shelf, the sharpness of the stinging nettle by the door, the hunger of the bamboo seeds he keeps locked away, too afraid to plant them. And then he lets go.

It feels like he’s being torn apart, his diving suit ripped apart, shredded under the thorns of nightshade and choking kudzu vines. The ocean taking the tears and flooding all his senses. The only thoughts going through his head are to keep Chan safe. If that means drowning himself in the sudden onslaught of anger, so be it. Chan will later tell him in a shaking voice that it had looked like the plants came from his skin, glowing with the potential energy of so much life that it had left dark spots in his vision after he had looked away.

He feels one of the men behind him reach for his gun, he sends a vine around his neck, crushing his trachea. These men are meaningless to him, what’s a human life to the megalith of a sequoia tree? He can feel Chan like a spear of ice deep in his chest. Everything else has to be destroyed, ripped out from the roots. No one should be allowed to touch him. 

He feels the knife pressed into Chan’s neck bite in just enough to draw blood. Distantly, he hears a scream, deep and primal. The burn in his throat makes him realize that it's coming from him. He directs the full force of his anger on to the man still holding Chan. The man screams as thorns grow from the veins in his arms and a vine wraps itself around his neck, pulling him to the ground hard enough to break bone. 

Every man is either unconscious or close to it within a few minutes. Still, Seokmin feels like the entire ocean is pouring through him. Anger that runs that deep doesn’t want to be put away. He can’t do anything but fall to his knees, can’t even scream, can’t cry. It feels like drowning and burning alive all at once. 

He feels a cool hand on his face, cupping his jaw. He starts, hand reaching up to claw it away. “Hey, it’s just me, it's just Chan. I’m safe, it's okay.” Slowly, he starts to feel the overwhelming energy being drawn out of him like the tide receding. He keeps his eyes closed, too scared to see the destruction he’s wrought, tears slipping down his cheeks. Chan pulls him into a hug, whispering softly, slowly overwhelming the sound of anger still swirling around his head. Slowly the anger ebbs away, probably Chan redirecting it. “You’re okay, I’m safe, it’s alright.” Seokmin starts sobbing.

\---

Seungcheol and Mingyu show up when the police do, because of course their neighbors called the police. Seungcheol ends up taking over all the talking, making sure that the authorities know who is to blame. Seokmin is wrapped up in a blanket and given a mint plant to direct his excess energy into. By the time the police wrap everything up, and the unconscious men are removed from their apartment, Seokmin has a second blanket of mint leaves surrounding him. Seungkwan and Soonyoung show up still in their crime outfits and dragging Hansol along with them. He waves as he floats over their couch. Seokmin tries to smile at him but it feels fragile. All around him, his friends discuss who would have done this, Seungcheol suggesting that Minghao should have come to touch one of the henchmen to figure out their motive, Seungkwan suggesting that they move apartments. 

Chan hasn’t let go of his hand yet. He chimes into the others talking, and Seokmin can feel him direct more energy away. Eventually everyone agrees to take shifts watching their apartment for the night. Seokmin is bustled off to his bedroom, pots of moonflowers and queen anne’s lace placed in his bedroom to help him sleep. Chan curls around him and holds him while he shakes apart.

When he wakes up in the morning, he’s alone, no answers to be found in the flowers. 

\---

Things in the apartment are tense over the next few days. College doesn’t stop even if you have traumatic experiences apparently, so Seokmin tries to drown himself in school work to avoid looking at Chan. He’s afraid of what he’ll see. He’s also starting to lose sleep, starting awake from dreams where he couldn’t stop a knife, was too slow getting home, lost control and couldn't get it back. Some nights it’s all he can do to not run down the hall to make sure Chan is safe.  
In a reflection of the first time they really talked, the younger boy ends up cornering him in the kitchen at 2am.  
“Seokmin, hyung, please talk to me,” Chan leans on the doorframe this time. Seokmin places his glass in the sink gently, unable and unwilling to turn around.  
“I think you should move out.”  
“What?” Chan sounds small.  
“I said you should move out, it’s not safe here and I-” Chan cuts him off,  
“Oh my god, stop! It’s not dangerous, hyung, its fi-”  
Seokmin interrupts this time, “/I’m/ dangerous! You shouldn’t be here!”  
Chan sounds angry when he retorts, which isn’t an emotion Seokmin has seen from him before, “Don’t try and tell me what's good for me and what isn't! I’m not a child! I can take care of myself!”  
Seokmin laughs, feeling hollow, “And what happens if someone draws a gun before I get there next time? What then?”  
Chan grabs his wrist making him turn around to face the younger boy, “There won’t be a next time!”  
“You can’t know that! Just leave now before you get hurt!”  
“I’m not going to leave you!” Chan shouts back at him.  
“Why! I’ve done nothing but hurt you or put you in danger!”  
“Because I like you, you asshole!”  
Seokmin blinks. What? “What?”  
“I’m not the child you seem to think I am, Seokmin hyung. I can take care of myself,” Chan hasn’t let go of his wrists. The glow of anger is slowly, visibly, starting to trail up the other boy’s arms like creeper vines, slowly receding from Seokmin’s mind. “I don’t want you to destroy yourself, thinking that it’s your fault that everything happened. I have enemies too. It could have been you.” Chan rubs his thumbs over his wrists, “So please, stop eating yourself alive over this.”  
Seokmin leans over so that their foreheads are touching and breathes deeply.  
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I couldn’t stop anything,” Chan opens his mouth but Seokmin barrels on, “I’m gonna start going to therapy. It’s been a long time coming and Seungkwan went with me to set up an appointment for next week.” He laughs, feeling drained. He holds Chan’s hands in his now, “I like you too, Chan, I really do. I want to date you, and walk you to class, and make fun of Seungkwan and Hansol with you even if we would be even cheesier than them,” He feels more than hears the other boy laugh. He continues, “But I can’t start a relationship with you right now. The trauma is too fresh and I can’t give you the best of me like this. So please wait for me if you’re willing to. If not, I completely understand.”  
Chan hugs him then, holding him tightly and swaying them a little. “Of course, take all the time you need.”  
Seokmin whispers a thank you into Chan’s shoulder and they sway in the kitchen, plants waving softly behind them.

\----  
Things get somewhat back to normal, finals anxiety bleeding into summer. Seokmin takes a step back from being a villain with Seungkwan and Soonyoung’s full support. He goes to therapy and learns lots of cool things about managing anxiety and processing trauma. He always comes home and tells Chan all of his new facts while they eat dinner or facetiming him while he’s on patrol.  
Thursdays still happen, with too much food and just enough cuddling. The summer makes it a little harder to plan, Chan being called for patrols more frequently but they make it work. On one Thursday, Seokmin already has peach juice and a movie queued up when Chan walks in the door still in his uniform. He looks sweaty and tired and Seokmin thinks he’s never looked better.  
Chan sighs, pulling off his vest and fingerless gloves, and flops on the couch. He nuzzles his head into Seokmin’s thigh through his fuzzy blanket. “What are we watching hyung?” He looks up at Seokmin and the fairy lights around the apartment glitter off his face and his eyes are curved into a smile. Something in Seokmin’s chest pangs and he puts down his cup of peach juice. “Hyung?” Chan lifts up a little, looking worried, “Is everything good?”  
Seokmin takes a deep breath, “Lee Chan can I kiss you right now?” He watches the other boy’s eyes widen.  
“Yeah of course uhm how?” Chan seems as flustered as when they first talked about powers.  
Seokmin grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him up. The first press of their lips is off but then Chan tilts his head, and it's perfect. Seokmin can feel himself smiling into the kiss and a warm glow starting in his chest.  
Chan pulls back slightly, blinking. His eyes drift past Seokmin’s head and he starts laughing. Seokmin turns around, “what?” and then he starts laughing too. The whole apartment is absolutely covered in flowers. It’s so, so, so perfect. All the trimming in the world is worth Chan’s kisses.


End file.
